Lindsay

"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone"

Crossfit Beloit has changed my life. I'm going to get real personal and share my whole story. Let me start by sharing that I suffer from social anxiety. My routine used to consist of wandering around the gym, headphones in, avoiding eye contact with other people. That worked for me, for awhile. I started to get bored, tired, and started making excuses. I needed more motivation/encouragement. Most people would say, hire a trainer...No. Pay someone to write a routine for me, show me the equipment, and set the weights? I can do all of that myself, I'm not a newbie. I have been working out most of my life. I needed a change.

I had heard of Crossfit, and of course all the "rumors" associated with it. I followed the crowd, and the rumors, and decided it wasn't for me. My friend Jarrod did Crossfit and had jokingly asked me to be his partner for an upcoming local Crossfit competition. (He knew I didn't do CF) I was sort of intrigued and decided to watch the video (for the competition) showing the workouts and standards.I thought, I could do that stuff. That looks fun. I stumbled upon a Groupon for the elements class and I thought, why the heck not? I want to see what crossfit is all about and form my own opinion. Elements was one on one, which was ok for me, and was 4 weeks long. I had fallen in love with Crossfit. I started on regular classes, but was not in love with this particular gym. The small group setting makes me VERY uneasy, and if I don't feel comfortable, I bolt.

I started researching other gyms in the area and decided to meet with Scott at Crossfit Beloit. I will never forget that day. I sat in my car and was physically shaking. My nerves and anxiety were through the roof. I almost didn't go in. I forced myself to go in, I needed this. I had found my new passion. Everything went great. I felt much more comfortable with Scott. I instantly felt like I mattered and he was more interested in helping me reach my goals than taking my money. It was evident that this was Scott's passion. I started classes right away. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, it was intimidating at first. Most people were better than me, I always came close to puking, and I would either come in last or the workout would be made easier for me. I didn't like that, I wanted to do better. I never thought of myself as a competitive person, but I am definitely a lot more competitive than I thought! I also had the social anxiety issue for awhile. I tried out different class times to figure out where I was most comfortable. Those 5:30 pm folks intimidated the heck out of me, so I hung out with the awesome 5:30 am folks for awhile. (Now I am one of the intimidating evening people, ha!)

It didn't take long for that anxiety and intimidation to go away. I was a part of the community and I felt comfortable whether I was the slowest or the worst in the class. These people were great people. Most importantly I felt strong. I loved what my body was capable of, how much I could push myself. All with the cheers and encouragement from my CFB family. Almost 2.5 years later I am still pushing myself beyond my limits and hitting PR'S with the encouragement of my CFB family.

The best part of walking into Crossfit Beloit has been gaining a second family. I love these people. All of them. This is the best community of people that exists. It's these people that make CFB great. The encouragement, the motivation, the support. A place where everyone is accepted. Crossfit is the best part of my day. The biggest regret I have is not joining sooner. I really like Crossfit, but Crossfit Beloit is why I love it.

"The best investment you can make is always in yourself. It's always worth it"